The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-04-29
PRESCOITS CALAMITY.
Terrors Of the Cyclone at q Kan
sas Town.

Houses Wrecked and Fleeing Inmates
Many Others Fatally Injurea-The
Town Nearly Wiped Out.
Prescott, Kan, April 23-A terrible cy-
clone visited this place about $3.50 Thursday
evening, completely destroying the city.
About 200 houses were demolished. II hud
been raining very hard and tho waterfall
was very heavy, when hailst0nes As large
IS goose egg fell, breaking many WIN
dows, when suddenly the regular funnel
shaped cloud could be seen rapidly ap-
preaching from the northwest fully fifteen
minutes before the town was struck.
Houses could be seen twisting under the
heavy pressure Of the mighty monster high
up in the sky. Every farm house In it's
path, about one and quarter miles
WIDE, was wrecked and many happy
homes were destroyed. From twelve
miles northwest and eleven miles
southeast every thing was felled.
Dick Hardness and his wife and four
children and visiicr-Miss MinnOck. Of
lakewood, Ill.-with their house and all
y
the air and dropped in an adjoining orchard.
They lit on a large apple tree, escaping in
slant death. Mrs. Hardness, with an in
FAINT in her arms, was terribly injured and
the others were badly cut ard bruised.
Kit Hardness, q brother Of the above, and
several others were IN a livery barn
and all were carried quite distance and
badly injured, many limbs being broken.
hxa OF TO- t,,l IL
Manlove Brothers store and contents are
. total loss. II. &. Trip. Of McCord. Nave
4 Co., Kansas City, Charles Blake and w.
II. Billings were in the rear and were only
slightly injured while Jake Stephens Was
at the front door and was struck by a
heavy timber and feiled to the floor, dying
of strangulation, the timber having fallen
across his neck. Those in the rear could
hear his means and cries for help but were
powerless, they being pcnned in as well.
Miss Lena Sellers, aged twenty-cight, will
probably die. She had just stepped out of
L. Miller Il Sons store and was struck by
a falling timber.
Mrs. Kit Hardness and children were
struck by timber driven completely
through their residence and severely cut
and bruised. The house, a very large one,
the finest in the city, was damaged 5000.
Will Mckale and family, who live one
mile and u quarter northwest, were sitting
around the fire when the house was struck.
He was killed, and an infant taken from
Mrs. Mckalc's arms was found dead Il
mile from the house. The rest of the
family were picked up insensible from ad-
jacent parts of their farm. Four miles
northwest lived Mr.. and Mrs. Flynn, three
small children and q young lady from the
East visiting them, Miss McDanz. They
were taken UP with the house and carried
about half mile. Miss McDanz was
killed and the rest of them were badly
wounded. All were picked up insensble.
William Browning, who lived seven miles
in u fine new residence, had his
house taken up and not q trace Of it can be
found. No one has seen a piece of it in the
miles heard from. His loss was
$1,000. The family fortunately were iu a
cellar and escaped injury. At the Crone
residence nothing is left of their beautiful
house. Mrs. Crone was killed outright and
the others were found scattered over q
forty-acre field. Every business house in
town is down or ruined. The few standing
are pierced full of timbers, while
the new Gulf depot is scattered over town.
The damage can not be estimated Us the
town is ruined and probably will not be re-
built. Those killed are: Will McKale and
infant, Jake Stephens, who leaves u wife
and babe destitute; Mrs. s. p DemIng's
six months child, Mrs. Sarah Crone, Miss
Miles Deming's wife and child.
The mortally injured are: Mrs. Dick Hank
ness and one child, Mr. T. F. Flynn and
three children, Mr.. and Mrs. Jake Breach,
q small child of Joe Duncan, Mrs. Dug
Walker and infant.
Others who were seriously though not
fatally injured were: Mr.. KIT Hardness
and wife and son, Neil; Mr.. Dick Hardness
and three children; Jim Woodbridge arm
broken; Ed Han, arm broken; j. Z. krusig,
struck by timber; Tinky Carer, badly hurt
by q hail stone; w. s. Bogart, Jim Kinney,
Mrs. NJ. Odell and infant, Mr.. Hogan and
wife and William Campbell, struck with
tImbers. The Baptist ard Methodist
were damaged about Sl,0OO each.
One hundred thousand dollars would no
more than cover the damage done to prop
erty. Very few places were insured against
cyclones.
Rich Hill Junction. on the Gulf, small
village, is laid low, only three buildings out
Of about dozen being left standing. p. e.
Skeletons residence, large frame house,
was found about two miles west and his
furniture and carpets were found in atoms
in Missouri four and one-half miles away.
every one was In the cellar.
Miles Miller's wife and child, living eleven
miles southeast, started for a cellar and
were blown into 4 well and drowned.
Prescott was village of about 500 in
habitants, located eighteen miles north of
Fort Scott, and there were about 2OO
houses in the village. An eye witness says:
THE scene before the awful storm reached
Pre- scott is indescribable. Out from the
northwest sky came the huge
cloud, twisting and writing,
dipping to the earth and then ascending to
D height OF 100 or more feet, and
the trunk of an enormous ele-
plant. The cloud could be seen approach
ng for over seven miles. Deathlike still
ness rcigned for a while, and strange
fascination held the people spellbOund.
Then the deep, sullcn roar of the storm
could be heard increasing as the cloud
rev nearer. The shrill, piercing
shrleks of the women and children
running hither and thither seeking
escape from the awful fate which
nenaced them We're heard on all sides. As
he storm drew nearer it was seen to be
filed with all manner of objects whirling
'ound and round; houses and barns were
lrawn into the vortex, lifted 20 a height of
hundred yards, tossed to and fro, and
hen dropped to the earth again, alighting
n splin:ers.
Lost With All ON Board.
OTTAWA. Ont, April "a special from
! ictoria. b. c., gives an account of Il terri
Die shipwreck, accompanied by the loss of